Driving home from the Hospital with my kids, I was stopped at a red light and a guy came to my window with his cap in hand.
I gave him 2 smokes and a dollar, then wished him well. My daughter was in the backseat and said, “Oh, Daddy. That was so nice of you.”
A younger me would have just ignored him. But I explained to my daughter that a lot of street people can’t work because of mental illness…that i was one of the lucky ones.
It’s a “but for the grace of God, go I” sort of thing in my mind during these trying days I’m having.
I remember once walking downtown looking unshaven that day, and an old bum was walking towards me. There was a half-lit cigarette on the pavement between us. We both glanced at it for a split second, then the old bum said to me…
“Go ahead. You saw it first.”
lol! He thought I was also a streetperson who was about to pick up the butt!!
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Needless to say, I went right home and showered and shaved!
That was kind of you Patrick. It also made an impression on your daughters, that every person deserves to be noticed and to be treated with respect and compassion.
@PatrickT that was very sweet of you. I think it humbled me in a sense that I have a greater sense of empathy for people who struggle and keep surviving.
I finished living downtown in board & care homes in a major city last year. I was at two places actually but they were owned by the same company. Seeing homeless people walking around, sleeping on the sidewalk, homeless people sitting next door at the 7-11 was a part of daily life…
I had a job so I frequently gave a couple bucks to the homeless or down and out people as much as I could. Many recognized me and I would like to think they liked me at least a little but I don’t really know. Well, actually I’m sure some of them liked me at least a little.
But yeah, I’m one of the lucky ones too and I’ve been broke many times in my life and I know that giving a person even just a quarter or 50 cents can help because sometimes getting 50 cents can mean the difference between buying that hamburger or affording that drink. or going hungry or thirsty for a whole day to them.
It made me feel good to help and even if I had money or not that day, I would still greet everybody with a smile and 9 times of 10 they would smile back and we would both walk away feeling a little better about the day.
